Muhammad Ali/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Two robots are boxing in the middle of a large sports arena. The arena is packed with a cheering, beeping robot audience. Next to the boxing ring, Tim and Moby sit at a table. There is a microphone in front of each of them. Tim is describing the fight as it progresses. TIM: Oh. A vicious series of abdominal blows. One robot repeatedly hits the other in the stomach. TIM: This will surely go down in the annals as a battle for the ages. Not since Agamemnon laid siege to Troy has the world witnessed such astonishing brutality. MOBY: Beep. Moby rolls his eyes. TIM: What, too much? Moby hands Tim a sheet of paper. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, Can you tell me a little bit about Muhammad Ali? Sincerely, Perri. Muhammed Ali is one of the most iconic athletes of the twentieth century. An image shows Muhammed Ali as a young adult. TIM: He was three-time heavyweight boxing champ during the nineteen-sixties and seventies. His superior talent and creativity let him dominate in the ring. An animation shows Ali doing a victory dance in a boxing ring, as the boxer he has defeated sits dazed in a corner of the ring. Images show Ali winning three heavyweight championship belts. TIM: But he's remembered as much more than just a big-time boxer. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Ali rose to prominence amid the emerging Civil Rights Movement: the struggle to overturn racist policies targeting African Americans. Images show key events from the Civil Rights movements, including arrests, speeches, protest marches, and police attacking protestors. TIM: From the start of his career, he was a symbol of the changing times. An image shows Ali in the ring, fighting a white opponent. TIM: African Americans, even those in the spotlight, were supposed to be quiet and humble. Ali was unwilling to play by those rules and instead freely spoke his mind. An animation shows Ali being interviewed by a sportscaster. Ali is forceful and animated as he answers the sportscaster's questions. TIM: Which forced Americans to think about the treatment of black people in our country. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Ali was born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, in nineteen forty-two. Growing up, he witnessed the bias and brutality of segregation firsthand. He couldn't understand why he couldn't go where white people went or do what they did. An animation shows Ali as a young man, walking through his home town. He frowns as he passes businesses with signs in their windows that read: Whites Only. He stops and examines a rack of newspapers with headlines about racial tension and violence. TIM: Cassius was particularly affected by the death of Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old boy murdered after being accused of whistling at a white woman. An animation shows Ali looking at the newspaper headlines about Till's lynching. TIM: The racial violence of that era left Cassius confused and angry. Boxing gave him a chance to channel those emotions. An image shows a pair of boxing gloves hanging on a hook on the wall. MOBY: Beep. TIM: He immediately stood out for his astonishing speed. His quick reflexes and footwork made him nearly impossible to hit. And his hands were lightning-fast. An animation shows Ali, working out alone in a gym's boxing ring. TIM: As an amateur fighter, he racked up over a hundred wins. And took home the gold at the nineteen-sixty Summer Olympics. An image shows Ali and three other athletes receiving Olympic medals. TIM: As a pro, he developed a style that was all his own. MOBY: Beep. TIM: During bouts, he'd dance around, shuffling his feet and circling opponents. Ducking and dodging blows as fighters grew frustrated. An animation shows Ali fighting an opponent. He moves as Tim describes. TIM: The constant movement eventually wore people down, leaving them open to Clay's deadly counter-punches. Ali punches his opponent, knocking him out. Then he raises his gloved hands in victory. TIM: That's what led to his famous tagline: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Clay often spoke in freestyle rhymes at interviews and press conferences. An animation shows Ali speaking at a podium before a group of reporters. Ali is saying: I'm so mean, I make medicine sick. TIM: His confidence and charm helped him become a media superstar. Reporters ate up his lyrical delivery and readymade sound bites. Clay had adapted his routine from the world of pro wrestling. He liked how they used to swagger and boast to rile up viewers. An animation shows Ali studying wrestlers on television. He is taking notes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: True, he was also kind of abrasive. He'd taunt his opponents, predicting exactly what round they'd get knocked out. An animation shows Ali in a white bathrobe, acting as Tim describes. TIM: Traditional fans and older folks thought he was arrogant. But Clay knew that whether he was booed or cheered, it helped fill the seats. An animation shows an older crowd heckling Ali as he speaks. TIM: And that would be the key to getting a shot at the championship belt. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It finally came in nineteen sixty-four, when he faced Sonny Liston. An image shows Ali and Liston facing each other, their gloved fists raised. Their heights, weights, and other bodily measurements are displayed on a board between them. TIM: Even in the world of heavyweight boxing, Liston was a scary figure, a big, brawny fighter with a brutal knockout punch. An image shows Liston and Ali in a boxing ring. Liston punches Ali, who starts and pulls back, surprised. TIM: But Clay frustrated him at every turn. An image shows Ali punching Liston in the face. TIM: At the beginning of the seventh round, Liston refused to leave his corner. An animation shows Liston in a corner of the boxing ring, his assistants tending to him. TIM: Amid the frenzy inside the ring, Clay shouted that he "shook up the world." An animation shows Ali dancing and shouting. An image appears of the Heavyweight Championship belt. TIM: And what he was about to do outside the ring really did. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Soon after the fight, Clay joined the Nation of Islam, a fringe Muslim sect. They believed racism was a permanent part of American culture, and their goal was to create an entirely separate country for black people. An animation shows Ali, in a suit and tie, speaking to a crowd of reporters and photographers. TIM: Nation of Islam recruits would often change their last names, since those were passed down from slave owners. That's why Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali. An image shows a picture of Ali on a newspaper's front page. The paper's headline reads: Clay Rejects Slave Name. MOBY: Beep. TIM: He quickly became a symbol of African American pride and rising racial tensions. An animation shows an African American in a barber's chair, getting his hair cut. He is smiling as he reads the newspaper story. TIM: The theatrics he once relied on to drum up interest in his fights he now used to send a message about racial injustice. An animation shows two white men discussing the newspaper headline. They are frowning. TIM: It was the same idea behind his refusal to enter the armed forces. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The U.S. was in an escalating conflict with Vietnam, halfway around the world. Side by side animations show the location of Vietnam on a map of Southeast Asia, and three soldiers marching through the Vietnamese jungle. TIM: Many young men were being called up, or drafted, to serve in the military. An image shows a draft notice addressed to Muhammad Ali in Houston, Texas. TIM: Ali stated that his religious background prevented him from fighting. He also questioned the purpose of the war itself, asking reporters why he should fight for a country that treated his people so poorly. An animation shows Ali addressing a group of reporters and photographers. He has a Koran in his hand. MOBY: Beep. TIM: His views on war and religion didn't really help his reputation, and his fight against the draft cost him dearly. He was stripped of his title and barred from boxing anywhere in the U.S. Images show newspapers with Ali's picture. A headline reads: Clay Gets Five Years, Ten-Thousand Dollar Fine. A second headline reads: Clay Won't Go, Loses Boxing Title. TIM: His legal battle took years as the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. An animation shows Ali and his attorney walking toward the Supreme Court building. TIM: Over that time, public opinion turned against the Vietnam War. And landmark legislation made the dream of Civil Rights a reality. An animation shows war protestors in front of the White House. TIM: The country had caught up to Ali and his beliefs. He also broke ties with the Nation of Islam, converting to a mainstream sect. An image shows Ali on his knees in prayer. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Ali returned to the ring in nineteen-seventy, but he was never quite the same. An image shows a poster promoting a bout between Ali and fighter Jerry Quarry, in Atlanta, Georgia. TIM: He'd been sidelined for nearly four of his prime fighting years. Heavier and slower, he couldn't use pure speed to outduel boxers. An animation shows Ali stepping onto a scale and being weighed. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The Greatest was no longer invincible. But ironically, the decline in skill led to his most epic battles. Side by side images show a poster promoting a bout between Ali and George Foreman in Zaire, Africa. A second image shows a poster promoting a bout between Ali and Joe Frazier in Manilla, in the Philippines. TIM: Three grueling bouts against Joe Frazier created the most celebrated rivalry in boxing history. An image shows Frazier and Ali boxing in a ring. TIM: Ali lost the first fight, when Frazier held the championship. An image shows Frazier knocking out Ali. TIM: By the time he got another shot at the title, Ali was thirty-two years old and well past his prime. This time, the belt was in the hands of George Foreman. Foreman had easily crushed fighters who had given Ali trouble, including Frazier. An animation shows Foreman and Ali boxing in a ring. TIM: But what Ali lacked in pure ability, he made up for in smarts. He leaned back on the ropes and covered up in the early rounds. An animation shows Ali acting as Tim describes, blocking Foreman's punches with his arms. TIM: After Foreman had exhausted himself, Ali shocked the world by knocking out the younger, stronger man. An animation shows Foreman lying on his back in the boxing ring, knocked out. Ali does a victory dance, his gloved fists in the air. TIM: It seemed he won through sheer force of will. Even those who hated his politics had to admire his heart. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Ali became even more beloved after he hung up his gloves in nineteen seventy-nine. Over the next four decades, he focused on humanitarian and charitable work. Images show Ali meeting with a world leader and helping those in need. TIM: He focused much of his efforts on helping children in poorer nations. An image shows Ali with several small children in a poor African country. TIM: Even when his health declined due to Parkinson's Disease, he kept on fighting, raising awareness about the disease by staying in the spotlight. An animation shows a shaking Ali holding a torch at the Olympic Games. TIM: His life came full-circle at the nineteen ninety-six Atlanta Olympics. With billions cheering across the globe, he lit the opening ceremony flame. An animation shows Ali doing as Tim describes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, Ali's place in our culture had totally changed between those two Olympic moments. An animation compares the two times Ali appeared at the Olympics, as a competitor and as a torch-lighter. TIM: But his voice has always been the same, defiant and insightful. Although he died in twenty-sixteen, for many fans he'll always be "The Greatest." Category:BrainPOP Transcripts